Learn To Skydive

After your tandem, you now have some options to continue on to become a licensed USPA (United States Parachute Association) skydiver with all the rights and privileges entailed in that license. However, in this path, your training is more intense, exciting detailed and offering you a full skydiving experience from the first jump on.

After your tandem you will be enrolled in a First Jump Course ("FJC"), which is a ground school of approximately four to six hours in which you will be trained in all aspects of your first solo-gear skydive. Upon completion of the FJC, you will make a skydive with USPA AFF Instructors assisting you. On this skydive, you will fly a canopy by yourself for the first time with ground radio assistance.

Accelerated Freefall Training

Accelerated Freefall (AFF) is the premiere method of skydiving training in the United States.

Phase I

In Phase I of the program you will focus on basic skydiving skills. Phase I starts with the First Jump Course and your Category A skydive.

The AFF First Jump Course

As the kick off to Phase I of the Accelerated Free Fall program, the First Jump Course is a 5-6 hour training class that covers all aspects of freefall skydiving, aircraft procedures, AFF Exit Training equipment, canopy control, landing and unusual or emergency procedures, and prepares you for the rigors of your Category A skydive. It is a mixture of classroom training and hands-on practical and participatory training using video, visual aids and skydiving equipment.

During the course, you will learn how to exit the aircraft, freefall from 13,000 feet above the ground, deploy your parachute, fly the parachute and land safely.

Category A Skydive

Following the First Jump Course, its time to make your Category A skydive! After gearing up, you'll review the skydive with your instructors and its time to ride to 13,000 ft in our spacious, fast-climbing DHC-6 Twin Otter. At 13,000 ft is time to skydive!

An AFF Category A skydive is 100% pure adrenaline . You'll exit the plane with your instructors holding your harness. You'll freefall to 5,500 ft, at which time you'll deploy your parachute and be completely on your own to continue your descent to earth under your parachute.

Continuing On

After your Category A skydive, Categories B and C introduce you to the concepts of forward motion, heading control and turning in freefall.

Starting with Category C2, you graduate to just one instructor and focus your efforts and stability with heading maintenance, leg awareness and hover control.

Category E and F are designed to practice controlled turns in freefall and more advanced canopy control techniques. You will also be expected to learn about airplane spotting, canopy packing and equipment checks. The final two levels of Phase I prepare you to organize a skydive on your own. You will be expected to show your proficiency in a number of areas including:

Performing a complete equipment maintenance check

Achieving stability after an unstable maneuver such as a front or back flip

Maintaining stability during coordinated body movements such as the pilot chute pull

Showing altitude awareness by pulling at a pre-designated altitude

Canopy control and landing accuracy

Phase II

During Phase II of AFF, you will make several more skydives including solos and jumps with a USPA-rated skydiving coach. You will be trained on more advanced skydiver skills such as tracking, spotting and canopy control. Later, you will be required to show that you can properly and safely plan and execute a skydive with others from start to finish.

Throughout the program students skills and knowledge are continuously tested to insure your safety.

Graduation

The final jump in the program involves a thorough testing of all of the concepts introduced and a completion of a series of performance maneuvers. If you have completed all of your other ground work then successful completion of the test and maneuvers will result in your A license.

Our freefall curriculum has been modified and improved over the years to encourage the highest student performance levels on every jump. Every student in our program will have the benefit of a one-on-one relationship with one of our instructors. They will be there to answer questions, schedule jumps and introduce you to our sport. Our Accelerated Freefall (AFF) program has one of the highest graduation rates in the entire country.

All unlicensed skydivers are required to complete the entire AFF program before they skydive with other jumpers. Make your reservations early, classes are limited. Classes are held regardless of the weather.

Visit the Prices page for more info on the costs for Accelerated Freefall.

Anyone interested in our AFF program should email AFF@skyjump.com for information or to reserve a spot in a First Jump Course.

** Accelerated Freefall is a rigorous and physically demanding program that has some physical requirements behind it. You should be in reasonably good physical condition and be able to execute a "Parachute Landing Fall" (PLF) from a 2-3 foot height. During the training and as part of making an Accelerated Free Fall skydive, you will bend, squat, arch your back and demonstrate a proper "PLF". If you have physical restrictions, you should talk to manifest or an instructor before starting AFF.